Last week, a new U.S. weather satellite, GOES-R, launched into space. Like NOAA’s other satellites, it will provide the National Weather Service with critical oceanic and atmospheric data needed to identify severe weather threats and issue lifesaving forecasts – but GOES-R is a true game changer.

Simon Kuznets is not a household name. Born to a Jewish family in pre-Soviet Belarus in 1901, Kuznets studied economics in Ukraine until 1922, when Russian persecution led him to immigrate to America. In New York, Kuznets would complete his studies at Columbia University and go on to become one of the world’s most renowned economists, whose work still shapes the way we understand our economy...

From coast to coast, manufacturers built this country. Entire communities and industries rose to prominence on the backs of steelworkers in Pennsylvania, autoworkers in Michigan and semiconductor assembly workers here in Oregon.

At many points throughout our history, our nation has faced the choice between economic engagement or isolationism. Today, amid a heated debate over trade and our position in the world, the United States once again must choose between retreating into isolationism or embracing our leadership in the global economy.

Over the last eight years, America has written a new chapter in our relationship with Africa. Under President Obama’s leadership, we have worked to transition our support for the continent from aid to trade and empowerment. We have started to build a full, equal, advanced economic partnership — a partnership that holds as much promise for African countries as it does for America. This week’s U.S...

Growing up in a family that made everything from railroad tank cars to medical equipment, I was raised with a deep appreciation of the American manufacturing tradition. Today, as Secretary of Commerce, I have the opportunity to not only see firsthand the modern reality of our industrial base but to partner with manufacturers across the country to strengthen this critical sector of our economy.